TNT’s upcoming Snowpiercer adaptation has been called a “prequel” to the Chris Evans film, so color me shocked when the NYCC press event made it clear that the movie (which is itself based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige) is just a light jumping-off point for the new drama series. Meaning, don’t expect to see any familiar characters on this train.
The easier way to describe the television show is that it is based on the world of Snowpiercer rather than acting as a direct prequel. Set a few years into their never-ending journey, the Snowpiercer train continues on its track as Layton Well (Daveed Diggs) is pulled from the tail of the train to help solve a murder. Like the movie, the show seems to be exploring the themes of human resilience and what it means to lose everything you’d loved in order to just survive.
Starring Diggs, Jennifer Connelly, Mickey Sumner, Lena Hall, and more, the show surely piqued my interest. (Also, don’t let that animated promo there fool you, the show is live-action.) But what really stood out to me was the talk of a new addition to the train: The Night Car. At first, it looked like a place where many could go for their sexual desires, but it turned out to be more a place to explore your memories and remember life before extreme climate change forced all humans to flee to Snowpiercer in order to survive.
A cabaret of sorts, Lena Hall’s Miss Audrey character is the “madam” of the car and uses songs to help those around her cope. The film also had a car that seemed to be a kind nightclub and I’m interested to see how different this Night Car is from that version of escapism.
Apart from that, the show seems to be building a world for these characters in a way that the movie could not. A linear story that is more a heist than anything else, the movie Snowpiercer gave us very little insight into these characters outside of what was necessary for the story. But the cast and creative team seemed to make it clear that the television show for Snowpiercer is focusing on the struggles these survivors would face now, being trapped on Snowpiercer for the rest of their days with no way of escaping the train.
A timely story with our own discussions of climate change being a constant in the news, Snowpiercer is an interesting story to continue to come back to. But then again, how much has really changed in the topic of climate change in the last 6 years since the film has come out? (Not much.)
I personally can’t wait for Snowpiercer to see how much influence the show has from Bong Joon-ho’s style in the film. Snowpiercer is set to premiere in 2020.
(image: The Weinstein Company)
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